The magic of the mind

ZEN 2010

Fifth in a series

During our time at Thich Nhat Hanh's Plum Village in France, we were fortunate to capture the solemn magic that pervades his course called "21 Days: The Way of the Buddha".

    The sessions end with a vegetarian dinner, but our team's day didn't end until we'd had a meeting with Suthichai Yoon to discuss the next day's work.

    The boss views work as a form of dharma practice, and that often translates into longer hours. But it's a rewarding labour of love: We consider ourselves lucky being guided by one of the world's most famous Zen masters.

    At Plum we gradually became mindful of not just Zen Buddhism but the landscape and the way of life of the resident monks, who represent a cross-section of religious and cultural identities.

    I think longer daylight hours put a bit of a strain on the team in France, where the light lingers until nearly midnight. So we ended up spending several evenings working on our documentary.

    We often crashed into bed very late, only to arise again as early as 4am, when the Bell of Mindfulness sounded.

    The downside was that we didn't have much time to get to know the Thai monks in residence or their colleagues of different nationalities.

    So there was room for regret when it came time to leave. The monks and nuns gathered to give us a "meditative hug".

    Producer Khanchit Lertuthai and cameraman Kritaya Nimakorn were somewhat bewildered by the gesture, though it's common enough in Plum. But they were appreciative of the bhikkhuni's sincere affection. It had been a gruelling two weeks for us, but our commitment to working tirelessly was clear in every breath.

    Oddly enough, some of us didn't realise the power of mindfulness until we hit the tarmac back in Bangkok. We realised that Thich Nhat Hanh's meditative hugs are like a good dessert, saved for last as part of everyone's dharma studies.

    We left Plum with different impressions. Suthichai's co-host in the documentary series, the popular monk Phramaha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi, known to his readers as V Vajiramedhi, found the tedious dishwashing much to his liking, saying it kept him mindful of the present moment.

    "'Washing for washing' is a concept that interested me there," he said afterward. "It's quite thought-provoking. In that moment, we stop being attached to our self. We don't have self at all, because we become one with the task at hand.

    "There's no 'washer' or 'washed'. This is what the monks at Suan Mokkh call 'action that has no actors'."

Anyone can hug his own "dark side", Thich Nhat Hanh says, and co-host Prabda Yoon illustrated the point with a young Thai monk in Plum named Phap Thi (meaning "a dharma donor").

    This graduate of Chicago's School of Art Institute was originally ordained in the Theravada tradition, but found it difficult to pull himself out of the vicious cycle of smoking, drinking and spending money.

    He quit the monkhood, in fact, but - as he told Prabda - he rediscovered the light in Plum through illuminating dharma practice, and bit by bit it transformed his life.

Paraphrasing the Five Precepts of Buddhism, the monk said the nature of life isn't black or white. "The outer and inner parts of our palm are both our palm," as Nhat Hanh says.

It was a great time for Prabda as well at Plum, even though he was on a tight schedule, with a trip to Japan scheduled next.

    Somewhat familiar with Japanese Zen, Prabda - a vegetarian who'd been practising mindfulness - found it easy to grasp Nhat Hanh's Zen Buddhism, which has social consciousness at its core.

    "But I still find it difficult to get up at 5am," he quipped.

"There are different Zen schools," Prabda noted. "Japanese Zen Buddhism doesn't involved social action or singing. I'm quite fascinated by the social side of Nhat Hanh's Buddhism. I've come to realise that dharma practice isn't necessarily about going into solitude. It's about incorporating social concerns into dharma practice.

    "Personally, I'm wasn't impressed with the singing and dancing at Plum at all, though I see noting wrong with it," Prabda said. That won't change Buddhism in a negative way.

    "What will tarnish Buddhism is monks or lay people with a scant superficial understanding of Buddhism who become associated with black magic or anything like that.

"Nhat Hanh has simplified Buddhism for the sake of broadening its appeal."

    Prabda was pleased with the master's focus on Buddhism's role in creating peace, a result of his own experiences in his homeland. He has dealt extensively with issues like conflict, loss and injustice.

    "I like to think that Thai Buddhism can play a similar role," Prabda said. "We need to make people more mindful of peace and the injustice that exists in our society. If we put the master's teachings into practice, we might be able to find new solutions never before seen.

"I believe dharma practice transcends both political boundaries and the colour of your shirt. Everyone can use dharma equally."

    Suthichai was impressed with Plum's ethnic and even religious diversity. Most of the people learning from the Zen master have Christian or Jewish backgrounds. Nhat Hanh has, to his credit, avoided any proselytising.

    "Instead," Suthichai noted, "he tells people to retain their original faith.

"No one feels guilty about using the Buddha's teachings to transform their own lives. The more they practise dharma, the more aware they are of the Five Precepts. This is the kind of religious reconciliation that Plum places great importance on."

    And the approach, he noted, bears a striking resemblance to Buddhadasa's attitude half a world away.

    Part 6 of the newspaper series appears next Monday, and the TV series "Zen 2010: From Suan Mokkh to Plum Village" continues every Wednesday at 11pm on ModerNine.

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